A second man has been charged in the kidnapping and torturing of an Italian man in a posh New York City townhouse for weeks, New York police said Tuesday.
William Duplessie, 33, was charged Tuesday with first-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, second-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the New York Police Department.
Earlier Tuesday, Duplessie surrendered to authorities, with his lawyers, to the NYPD’s Major Case Squad Detectives unit. The attorneys declined to comment. The custody exchange had been expected.
Duplessie’s alleged involvement in the case wasn’t immediately clear.
Officials say he is a business partner of John Woeltz. The 37-year-old Woeltz, known by some as the “crypto king of Kentucky,” allegedly held the man captive inside the six-story Nolita townhome for more than two weeks. He faces charges including kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and assault, among others.
The victim, an Italian citizen, was another business partner of Woeltz and Duplessie, officials say. Investigators believe the relationship among the three men had been tumultuous in the past but came to a head when the Italian arrived early in the month.
After arriving in NYC on May 6, the victim was kidnapped and held inside the townhouse on Prince Street. Woeltz and his business partner allegedly took the victim’s passport and electronic devices, then demanded he give them his Bitcoin password. When the 28-year-old refused to comply, that’s when the torture started, police said.
He was bound by his wrists, pistol-whipped, had a gun held to his head, a chainsaw used on his leg, and urinated on. His captors also dangled him off the building and threatened his family.
After 17 days of torture alleged at the hands of the “Crypto King,” the victim managed to escape on Friday. Police said they found him covered in cuts and bruises, with ligature marks on his wrists from being bound. Video obtained exclusively by NBC New York showed the victim, disheveled and shoeless, running down Spring Street after breaking free, begging a traffic cop for help at the corner of Mulberry Street.
While Woeltz was taken into custody, led out in handcuffs wearing a towel, detectives were still searching for the other business partner involved.
Following the arrest of Woeltz, investigators allegedly found a trove of evidence at the rented-out home. Law enforcement sources said they turned up multiple Polaroid pictures of the victim being tied up and tortured. Investigators also reportedly recovered several torture items.
A gun, which is believed to be the same one used to inflict fear and pain on the victim, was found inside the home Monday morning, law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the situation said.
Authorities believe Woeltz is a big-name cryptocurrency trader from Kentucky with an estimated worth around $100 million; sources said the victim is worth an estimated $30 million. Woeltz had reportedly been renting out the Nolita residence at a monthly rate of at least $30,000.
The luxury six-story pad has an elevator and was described by sources as a “high-end frat house” with bottles of liquor strewn about and stripper poles in the basement. Neighbors said they could hear loud partying at all hours of the night, but they had no idea of the alleged torture going on within its walls.
Sources told NBC New York that Woeltz and the other business partner had roughed up the victim in the past, but not to the same extent. He would get picked on by the other two, but their treatment of him was never nearly as violent. The relationship among the three was described as complex, with a “Wolf of Wall Street/frat guys gone wild” element to it.
Woeltz was ordered held without bond. His attorney did not speak to the media after the arraignment on Saturday.
